


Second Sight

by kryptofreak13



Series: Hell’s Bells, Padawan [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dresden Files Fusion, Angst, Magic, Meta, Soulgaze
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:03:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25560283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptofreak13/pseuds/kryptofreak13
Summary: Poets say eyes are the windows to the soul—and they’re right.The two times Ezra Soulgazed.Dresden Files AU. After breaking the laws of magic Ezra is sentenced to death. Kanan saves him by taking him on as an apprentice
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger & Sabine Wren
Series: Hell’s Bells, Padawan [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1848022
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Second Sight

Ignore her. Ignore her.

Ezra concentrated on the candle in front of him. It was only a simple fire spell, but he just couldn’t get the damn thing to light. 

“Impressive,” said a flat voice.

Ignore her.

Ezra took a deep breath and cleared his mind. “ _Fuego,”_ he murmured, pressing his will on the candle. The wick sputtered with light only to swiftly extinguish itself. 

Three slow claps rang sharp in his ears. Ezra lifted his eyes to the unwelcomed spectator.

Sabine was still an enigma to him. Technically a practitioner of magic, she didn’t have enough power to be trained as a full wizard. Her abilities were limited to small illusion spells. Kanan wasn’t her official teacher, yet she was always around. Mostly to harass Ezra apparently.

She was perched on the edge of the couch, a sketchbook in her lap. Her eyes glittered as the two stared at one another. “At least we don’t have to worry about you burning the apartment down.”

Heat crept up Ezra’s cheeks. “Seriously, what’s your problem with me?” 

Sabine shrugged. “I just don’t trust you.”

“Why? Kanan does.”

“Kanan has always had a soft spot for lost puppies,” she said bluntly. “It makes him stupid sometimes. Gets him hurt.”

“What makes you think I’d hurt him?” Ezra replied, anger coloring his words. “He saved my life.”

“Yes, by risking his own,” she snapped. “If you screw up again, he’s the one who has to pay the price.”

“I’m not going to screw up!” Ezra leapt to his feet. The candle in front of him flared. Startled, he stumbled and landed right back down on his butt.

Sabine sniggered.

Ezra winced. “How can I get you to trust me?”

The smile slid off Sabine's face. “A Soulgaze,” she answered, her voice low and dangerous.

“What?” Ezra stammered. 

She arched an eyebrow. “You know what that is, right?” 

Ezra nodded numbly and swallowed.

For anyone, prolonged eye contact is awkward. Unsettling even. Most people aren’t comfortable with more than a few seconds at a time. But lock eyes with someone long enough and you start to understand what makes them as a person. Move past that moment of anxiety and regret and it all begins to unfold. Their ambitions. Their fears. That drive that gets them out of bed in the morning.

Poets say eyes are the windows to the soul—and they’re right. 

When a wizard looked directly into someone’s eyes for longer than a few seconds they triggered what was called a Soulgaze. An incredibly intimate experience that allowed the wizard to see into a person’s soul. The raw and unfiltered core of a person. Whatever you saw would stay with you forever. A permanent imprint, never fading. Which is why they were often avoided. A Soulgaze with the wrong person could literally drive a wizard mad.

Most unpleasant was that a Soulgaze worked both ways. The other person got to stare right back.

The day Kanan had saved Ezra from the White Council, he’d insisted they’d Soulgaze each other. Ezra had never done one before and the experience had been a jarring one. Not because of what he’d seen from the man. It was the weirdest feeling to know a stranger that personally.

He’d never known what the older wizard had glimpsed from his soul—Kanan wouldn’t tell him. But it must not have been terrible because Kanan had simply called him padawan and started his first lesson.

Still, he definitely did not want Sabine to see his soul. There was bound to be some shadows lurking. Before meeting Kanan he had dabbled in dark magic. It had been unintentional, but it didn’t matter. Dark magic left a stain that no amount of scrubbing could erase.

But if this were the only way to get Sabine to stop being so hostile to him, then he would do it. At the very least he’d understand her holier than thou persona.

“Let’s do it,” Ezra said with a determined nod.

Sabine’s eyes grew a little wide but tried to hide her surprise with a smirk. Ezra returned it. All her bravado and he’d thrown her off guard by calling the bluff.

“Okay, Bridger.” She slid off the couch and sat down in front of him, their faces mere inches apart.

Staring into her brown eyes, Ezra steeled himself for what was about to happen—not that it would do him any good. A second later he felt a tugging sensation as the Soulgaze started.

Whatever he had expected, it certainly was not this.

Sabine stood with her back to him. She wore heavy armor that was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Every inch of it was covered in color. Burst of purple, orange, and yellow. Almost as if she had been just playing paintball. But that wasn’t the strangest part. 

In her hand was a sword. Black and crackling with power, it reminded Ezra of the weapons from the films Kanan kept forcing him to watch. As he stepped closer, he could hear a noise emitting from the blade. High pitched and alien, the sound made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Ezra circled around Sabine. She did not acknowledge his presence. Rather her keen eyes searched the space before her. There was a sound of footsteps off in the distance and she tensed. She raised the sword aloft, her mouth twisting into a snarl. Ezra had just a second to jump out of the way before a shape flew out of the shadows.

There was a bright flash of light as two swords clashed. Ezra tried to make out the face of Sabine’s attacker, but they were fighting too fast. Eventually the opponent found an opening and managed to slash Sabine in the arm, slicing through her armor. Sabine stumbled back, her eyes darkening. 

Now that they were stopped, Ezra could finally see the face of the attacker. Or he would have if it had one. In its place was an expressionless dark mask. There were no edges to it, no hint of a true face laying underneath.

“Coward,” the thing hissed. Its voice was distorted and jagged. Yet there was still something familiar about it that Ezra couldn’t place.

“No,” Sabine gasped.

“You ran,” the voice growled. “When your family needed you the most, you abandoned them.”

“No!” Tears streamed down Sabine’s cheeks. She was shaking, though whether from rage or pain, Ezra didn’t know. “Everything I did was to protect them.” 

The thing tilted its head to the side. “And yet it is still your fault.” This time when the voice spoke, there was no distortion. Ezra realized with sickening clarity why he had found it familiar.

It was Sabine’s voice.

The thing raised its sword. Sabine lowered her head, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

Unable to stop himself, Ezra leapt in between them just as the thing swung the sword forward—

“No!” Ezra fell backwards, his head smacking the apartment floor. He blinked, dizzy. Gingerly he sat up, his eyes falling on the clock. The Soulgaze had lasted only a few minutes real time, despite feeling much longer. “Sabine?” 

Sabine sat motionless with her arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes met his and she flinched, averting her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. She stood up and grabbed her backpack. “Tell Kanan I’ll see him later.”

“Sabine, wait!”

The front door slammed, and Ezra was left alone.

* * *

“You’ve been quiet all night. Which normally I’d welcome,” Kanan said, the corner of his lips twitching upwards. “But I’m guessing something’s bothering you.” He placed two steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the table. There was a sharp scent coming from Kanan’s that led Ezra to believe he’d added something more than marshmallows. “What’s on your mind, kid?”

Ezra took a tentative sip from his own before answering, “Sabine and I Soulgazed today.”

Kanan stilled at that, but quickly recovered. His brow furrowed as he sat down. “Yeah, I should have realized she’d asked you to do that. You okay?”

“I don’t know,” Ezra answered. “Have the two of you done one?”

Kanan shook his head as he took a sip of his drink.

Best not to mention the specifics, then. Ezra had the impression a Soulgaze wasn’t something you discussed with a third party. A secret that should never be betrayed.

“I didn’t really want to, but she insisted.”

Kanan frowned. “To say Sabine has trust issues, is putting it mildly. She lost her family because of dark magic. It leaves a scar that can’t easily be healed.”

The hot chocolate curdled in Ezra’s stomach. “I didn’t know. No wonder she hates me.” 

“After today, I doubt she still does. Just give her a little time.”

That gave Ezra pause. “Will you ever tell me what you saw?” He grimaced, hating the whine in his voice. 

Kanan sighed and gave him a soft smile. “Do you really want to know?”

Ezra fell silent. Did he? Would knowing what his soul had looked like make any difference? After a moment of consideration, he said, “Yes. I want to know.”

Kanan nodded, his expression serious. “It showed me you were a good person and that you had the potential to become a great wizard. But…” he trailed off, fixing his gaze on the mug between his hands.

“But what?”

Kanan ran his fingers through his hair, now disheveled and loose from its usual ponytail. He lifted his eyes and met Ezra’s. Though Ezra felt a small shiver, there was no tugging sensation. A Soulgaze could only trigger once between two people. 

“I saw other paths you could take,” Kanan said with grave severity. “Less than ideal ones. Paths that would only lead to pain and suffering.”

Cold dread unfurled in Ezra’s chest. “Then why—?”

“Because everyone has a choice. Everyone has demons.” Something dark flickered across Kanan’s eyes on the last word **.** “I saw you fighting against yours and that’s all that matters.”

For a long moment neither of them spoke. The apartment was eerily silent, the only sound coming from passing cars outside.

“Kanan?” Ezra finally said.

“Hmm?”

“You’ve never been curious what others see? You don’t want to know?”

“I’d rather not,” Kanan answered, his voice quiet. “I can’t imagine it’s anything good.” He downed the rest of his drink and stood up from the table. Clapping Ezra on the shoulder, he added, “I’m going to bed and you probably should too. Tomorrow we work on potions.” 

Ezra nodded, but remained sitting long after he had heard Kanan’s bedroom door close. He rolled the almost empty mug between his palms.

Soulgazes did not fade. Every detail was preserved perfectly. Ezra closed his eyes, his mind wandering back to that fateful day he’d seen into the older wizard’s eyes.

Kanan stood in front of a mirror, his hand reaching out to touch it. Only the reflection showed a boy, not much older than Ezra. Even without the beard and height it was still unmistakably Kanan. Mirror Kanan stared with glassy green eyes. He was trembling. Shadows wrapped around his legs. They clung to his clothes, threatening to pull him back into the darkness that surrounded him.

Similar menacing shadows lurked at the edges of the room he and Kanan were in. Ezra could have sworn he’d heard them whispering, but their words were unintelligible to him. They began to creep toward Kanan, overwhelming all the light. Ezra cried out to warn the man, only to realize Kanan couldn’t hear him. It didn’t matter. As the shadows converged closer, Kanan began to emit a soft light. It grew brighter and brighter. The warmth of that light reminded Ezra of home. Back before his parents had died, before the darkness whispered in his ear. In Kanan’s light he was safe.

The shadows not so much. They made a sort of screaming noise before scurrying back to the edges. Over and over again this happened. How long Ezra had watched, he didn’t know. But no matter how often they tried, the shadows could not reach the man. 

Ezra opened his eyes. Same as the night they first Soulgazed, he found his cheeks wet with tears. 

The entire vision, Kanan’s eyes never once strayed from the mirror. Almost as if he were completely unaware of his own light and strength. Stuck in the past of the demons he had faced.

Ezra was determined to prove he could become a great wizard. And he had faith that with Kanan’s teaching he could achieve that, even if the man didn’t have faith in himself. 


End file.
